Cigarettes



L. C. MEYER March 21, 1961 CIGARETTES Filed May 27, 1957 INVENTOR. [OZ/A5 C fife ex" Aria/m2? Patented Mar. 21, 19 61 United States. Patent Office CIGARETTES Louis C. Meyer, Rte. 1, Box 160, Mount Morrison, Colo.

Filed May 27, 1957, Ser. No. 661,748

1 Claim. (Cl. 131-17) This invention relates to a cigarette. One of the principal objections to cigarettes is the intense heat developed at the point of combustion which frees various tars and other deleterious substances, and forms vapors thereof, which are believed to be harmful to a smoker. It appears that if the temperature at and adjacent the area of combustion be reduced, the amount of injurious vapors will be similarly reduced, together with the harmful effects of cigarette smoking. It is, of course, well known that all metals have a relatively low specific heat and that they will absorb heat in proportion to their specific heats. Therefore, if the combustion zone can be brought into close proximity with the surfaces of metallic bodies, the result will be to lower the temperature of the combustion zone.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a cigarette in which the surfaces of metallic bodies will be continuously maintained in and about the zone of combustion of a cigarette to absorb heat therefrom and reduce the overall temperature of the cigarette.

Another object of the invention is to employ a metal for this purpose which will have a relatively low specific heat and which will be relatively light in weight, and to incorporate the metal in the cigarette in such a form that, as the cigarette is consumed, the metal will fall away in and with the cigarette ash so as not to interfere with normal smoking habits.

A further object is to provide a cigarette in which metallic surfaces will be positioned in contact with the tobacco content so that they will act to condense and collect the various nicotine and tar vapors to reduce the amount of the substances reaching the mouth of the smoker.

Other objects and advantages reside in the detail construction of the invention, which is designed for simplicity, economy, and efficiency. These will become more apparent from the following description.

In the following detailed description of the invention, reference is had to the accompanying drawing which forms a part hereof. Like numerals refer to like parts in all views of the drawing and throughout the description.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 illustrates a paper strip from which the improved cigarette may be made;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged, longitudinal section through a cigarette formed from the paper of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a similar longitudinal section through a cigarette, illustrating a first alternate form of the invention; and

Fig. 4 is a similar sectional view illustrating a second alternate form of the invention.

In the preferred form of the invention a cigarette is formed from a strip of conventional cigarette paper to one surface of which metal particles 11 have been applied. The metallic particles are preferably formed from aluminum flakes applied to the paper in any desired manner, such as by pressing them against the surface of the paper so that they will mechanically adhere thereto;

2 spraying them onto the paper with any suitable harmless bonding material; or in other ways which may occur to the manufacturer. Regardless of the method of application, the strip of cigarette paper 10 is completely coated on one side with metallic bodies or particles, such as flocculent aluminum foil.

When'the cigarette is formed, as shown in Fig. 2, the surface of the paper 10 containing the metal particles 11 is faced inwardly in contact with a tobacco core 12. The mouth end of the cigarette is preferably, but not necessarily, provided with any of the conventional cigarette filters 13 to prevent metal particles and tobacco from being drawn into the mouth of the user.

As the cigarette is consumed, the metallic particles will always surround the area of combustion and will act to absorb heat therefrom, and will also act as metallic condensing surfaces upon which the vapors produced by the combustion may condense and collect. As the cigarette is consumed, the metallic particles will fall away with the paper and tobacco ashes.

One of the principal features of the invention is the placing of metallic surfaces in and about the zone of combustion. The arrangement shown in Figs. 1 and 2 accomplishes this. However, it may be accomplished, at least in part, in other ways, such as by intermixing flocculent metal foil or flake particles'1'4 with the tobacco,

shown at 15 in Fig. 3, before the cigarette is formed. The action of the metallic particles 14 and the use thereof is similar to the preferred form previously described.

Another method for placing metallic surfaces in the zone of combustion is illustrated in Fig. 4 in which ribhon-like strips of metal foil 16 are wrapped into the cigarette with the tobacco filling. This form has all of the advantages of the previous forms, but has the disadvantage that the ribbons may not be so easily disposable in the ash, as in the preceding forms.

While aluminum'has been described as the preferred metal for use in the cigarette, other metals may be employed. For instance, iron particles should be satisfactory due to the relatively low specific heat of this particular metal.

While a specific form of the improvement has been described and illustrated herein, it is to be understood that the same may be varied, within the scope of the appended claim, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed and desired secured by Letters Patent is:

A cigarette comprising a paper wrapping, tobacco en closed in said wrapping, and loose, independent, separated, metal fiake particles having a relatively low specific heat uniformly intermixed with said tobacco throughout the entire length and breadth of the cigarette tobacco, so that the metal particles will always be present in the combustion zone as the cigarette is consumed, said metal particles being of a size and spaced a sufficient distance apart to continuously fall away from the cigarette with the ashes as the combustion zone travels from the point of combustion toward the mouth of the user for continuously extracting the heat from the combustion zone thereby lowering the temperature of said zone.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,972,718 Sharlit Sept. 4, 1934 2,003,690 Lewton June 4, 1935 2,049,320 Ruben et al July 28, 1936 2,185,293 Copeman Jan. 2, 1940 2,192,569 Williams et al. Mar. 5, 1940 (Other references on following page) 3 UNITED STATES PATENTS v Thiele May 14, 1946 Great Britain Dec. 17, 1934 Italy June 22, 1949 Great Britain Oct. 24, 1940 France May 21, 1927 OTHER REFERENCES Time (pub.) Making Cigarette Safe, Apr. 22, 1957, page 50. 

